​​A reader asked if cannabis supports spiritual awakening. It felt to me a sincere inquiry. The comments of the discussion group were not very helpful.

About a year ago, I started smoking cannabis to alleviate pain in the upper cervical and lower lumbar. I'd gone first to a medical doctor, then to 20+ sessions with a physical therapist. The next step in traditional medicine would have been surgery or injections.

An unexpected result was that after smoking, when I inverted, my deep breathing was greatly enhanced.

It was as though the cannabis relaxed restrictions in my body/mind which had prevented me from breathing deep and slow.

Over the year, I tried several different strains of cannabis from a dispensary and found they had very different effects on me. I began growing my own and realized that having a relationship with the plant from seed also makes a difference.

Over my lifetime, I applied myself to scores of practices for spiritual awakening and found many partially but none fully effective.

Then in a discussion group I raised the question, 'What practices support greater awareness?' and designed a practice from the pieces gleaned from 50 years of exploration and discovery.

The question of whether cannabis can be used for spiritual awakening does not have a simple answer because it depends on many factors such as:

What are the motives?A desire to be in an altered state, something different than what is, is a red flag. Better to face the inner demons or darkness without a crutch as that will nurture your growth. An urge or intuitive feeling to help the body/mind relax so body wisdom can guide, or to slow the thoughts for a time to feel yourself can be positive motives.

What is the person's mental-emotional state at the time of smoking?If the thought is, 'I really need a smoke,' than it is better not to. If the state is grounded and peaceful, smoking can be an enhancement, a cooperation with the plant spirit of cannabis. Don't expect smoking to do something for you.

What is the person's overall stage of spiritual development?A person who has a strong base of self awareness and self responsibility and caring has a much better chance to be out of the danger zone with cannabis than someone who is already inclined to be lazy and insensitive.

What are the individual body responses to cannabis?People have very different physical reactions to the same chemicals. It is good to be very aware of how your body is taking the chemicals released by smoking, on an individual basis. What is medicine to one can be poison to another.

What are the strain and source of the cannabis?There is a wide difference between strains of cannabis, as they are now grown for specific results. If you are sensitive to subtle energies, you may also pick up the energies of the grower. Know the strain and source before you smoke.

What is the dosage at a time?Self responsible smoking means also to be mindful of how much is smoked at a time and how often one smokes. A general rule of thumb is to take two good tokes, no more, at a time. If the smoking becomes every day, take a day off once in a while and notice how you feel. Monitor yourself closely and honestly.

A great deal of information on smoking cannabis for spiritual awakening is available on the internet. A Google search on 'cannabis spiritual awakening' brought up 380,000 results. Research it well and listen to your heart to come to your own sense of what is best for you.

The Great Turning is a name for the essential adventure of our time: the shift from the industrial growth society to a life-sustaining civilization. Future generations, if there is a livable world for them, will look back at the epochal transition we are making to a life-sustaining society. And they may well call this the time of the Great Turning. It is happening now. ~Joanna Macy

According to Macy, to accomplish this turning, work needs to be done in three distinct areas. They are as follows:

1) Holding Actions- this is essentially what we normally call activism or direct action. It's getting out there in the streets and saying a "Holy No" to the destructive and unjust practices that are taking place on the planet right now. It's putting bodies in the way of an out of control global system as it marches its sick juggernaut towards some form of deterioration or collapse.

2) Structural Change- this is where we actively work to build new societal forms, new economies, new ways of being together and organizing etc. This is the realm of the famous Buckminster Fuller quote, "To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete".

3) Shift in Consciousness- this is where we do the work of inner spiritual and psychological transformation, what Joseph Campbell called the inward journey. Here we intentionally try and develop beyond our "skin encapsulated egos" and open into wider spheres of identity with the earth, cosmos, and the whole of humanity. This can happen through new forms of thought, understanding the Great Story of which we're a-part, and in particular, through the many spiritual traditions that have developed the methods for such transformation over the centuries.

For Macy this is important because, "These structural alternatives cannot take root and survive without deeply ingrained values to sustain them. They must mirror what we want and how we relate to Earth and each other. They require, in other words, a profound shift in our perception of reality--and that shift is happening now, both as cognitive revolution and spiritual awakening"

Gary's Comment

Yes, these three are pillars of The Great Turning.

Pillar #3, 'Shift in Consciousness' is the first in importance, as effective individual inner work will guide the other two in harmony with the higher order 'from the industrial growth society to a life-sustaining civilization.'

Otherwise, we have egos out on the street making angry protest against aggression and creating new structures which will soon corrupt and fail.

​In a conversation thread in the Collective Evolution group, Bret Warshawsky wrote about the 7 Esses of Cocreation and the experimental 7 Frequencies of Cocreation the Noomap Prototype Technology has been playing with.

Syntony: attunement with the patterns of creation experienced as one’s own inner motivation and intuition.

Synergy: the coming together of separate parts to form a new whole different from, greater than and unpredictable from the sum of its parts.

Synchronicity: the apparent a-causal relationship among events; coincidences that could not be planned by human mind but that appear to flow from a larger and more comprehensive design.

Suprasex: the passion to express unique creativity, stimulated by vocational arousal, comparable to sexuality at the next level; instead of joining genes to procreate, we join genius to co-create – to give birth to our greater Self and to our work in the world.

Spontaneity: the experience of unpremeditated action and thought that flows naturally without thinking or planning; action that is on the mark, which facilitates and coordinates life.

Self-creativity: the tendency in nature to organize itself; autopoesis; the inherent capacity in nature to self-organize without apparent outside manipulation, springing from the field of Universal Intelligence out of which everything is arising.

The experimental 7 Frequencies of Cocreation the Noomap Prototype Technology has been playing with include:

Vision

Passion

Intention

Skill

Resource

Desire

Action

8th is Values

The experimental 7 Frequencies are also hypernyms pointing to classes of energy i.e. desire, need, want, request — as Flower is hypernym for rose, lilac, etc.

G. - People working within the circle of any group generally develop a greater understanding and group perspective than someone looking at it from outside the circle. I feel much alignment and connection with the Noomap/S7 group, but am new to it and still looking from a perspective that is not fully informed.

My evolving perspective is that the some of the above 7 frequencies or energy classes as named can be detrimental or beneficial depending on whether they originate from the persona or the heart. Or from emotions lower or higher on the spine. The 'other values' listed by Bret below are also heart frequencies.

In the persona, Vision sees outcomes which may not be from a whole system perspective and Intentions most often are not based on unconditional love. Action will be detrimental if it is from the persona, and beneficial from a whole systems perspective if from the heart. But, these are hypernyms pointing to classes of energy and I am still unclear how my observations, if they have any validity, apply.

Bret wrote:

Our Core Values/OS are the aforementioned 7 Esses. Other values would include but are not limited to:

We Value extreme patience

We Value unconditional love

We Value both timelessness and natural time

We Value trust

We Value freedom

We Value emergence

We Value personal transformation

We Value spiritual inquiry

We Value whole systems perspectives

G. - My random observations:

The heart longs only for the qualities of unconditional love.

Desire has attachments and belongs to the persona.

Language was mystical and powerful once and the words we choose to use today still carry those energetic connections. Certain words attach to certain forces. Desire creates friction and comes with unrest.

Rather than be driven by desire, one can put their wishes into the creation field with faith and trust, and non-attachment.

Are passion and desire of service to life, or do they serve persona?

Only beyond the persona will one experience the constancy of peace and rest.

Unlock your gift in the individuated experience to be of service.

Most never come out of the experience of survival.

Take a risk and drop the persona for the guidance of intuitive feeling.

The free will choice is to stay in persona and the illusion that you control your life — or to express the gift of who you are and experience co-creation with the all.

The all will support you to grow and express your innate gift.

Be open and trust that you can deal with whatever comes, in the moment.

Bret just wrote:

I can totally agree with some of the inquiry around desire/passion... obviously we've had similar inquiries and discussions with others and among ourselves.

G. - The inquiries and discussions continue. As I walked with Aura this morning, I asked myself, 'What are more primal terms for the class of energies called in the experiment 'desire' and 'passion'? What is the urge of the seed to burst from its shell and seek the sun? What are the drives of animal instinct to reproduce and survive as a species?

What are the distinctions between primal urges of nature's design and emotional wantings, which Buddha said are the root of all suffering? Aura just kept sniffing the ground for interesting scents and having her attention drawn to distracting sounds.

I would say that desire and wantings have lower emotional attachments. Lower perhaps in the sense of survival instincts and reproductive urges, rather than higher up the spine to feelings of the heart and intuitions of the higher senses.

No other person has painted a picture of what co-creation means within the context of a fully interconnected network than futurist Barbara Marx Hubbard. Corporate institutions have recently begun to adopt the term to describe “a management initiative, or form of economic strategy, that brings different parties together (for instance, a company and a group of customers), in order to jointly produce a mutually valued outcome” (Wikipedia) but this only partly describes the fullness of what co-creation represents in mind, body and spirit within an imaginal, cellular eco-system.

Barbara Marx Hubbard and her teams of evolutionaries have developed a whole-systems approach to co-creation which describes the socio-personal and universal dimensions of co-creation as well as a range of tools that enable people to practically engage with these principles. Some of Barbara’s headline initiatives and memes include the Wheel of Co-creation, Social Synergy Conventions (Syncons) and Conscious Evolution. Barbara also developed the 7 Ss of Cocreation which Noomap uses as one of its key sets of operating guidelines.

Syntony

“This term, coined by Eric Jantsch in his book Design for Evolution, described one of the ways of accessing conscious evolution, as mentioned earlier. The relationship between the cosmic design and the individual intensifies through some form of syntony or resonance. Syntony feels like guidance, intuition, or direct knowing. We do not have to figure out what to do. We know. We perform with spontaneous right action. The inner world of subjective experience and the outer world of objective reality blend and become one. We and the world “outside us” are interconnected in one larger field of intelligence. The great flashes of awareness that mystics have experienced throughout history are reinforced and normalized. Each of us becomes more attuned to the deeper patterns; intuition and intellect blend. The mystical state becomes grounded and manifested in spirit-motivated social action.” Page 173 of Conscious Evolution by Barbara Marx Hubbard (copyright 2015)

Adriënne Heijnen from Aarhus University discusses co-creation and its importance for the success of future cities.

Many of us can recall a technology project in a city, in which millions of euros were invested, but which failed to have any real impact on the lives of citizens. In an effort to avoid projects like these and ensure that digital solutions and services not only benefit cities, but also make sense in people’s everyday lives, we’ve seen an increase in the application of co-creation methods. This is also the reason why the subtitle of our OrganiCity project is “co-creating smart cities of the future;” our ambition is to collaboratively develop digital solutions that will make cities a better place to live for us all.

But what do we mean when we say we adopt a ‘co-creation’ approach and ask our experimenters to do so too?

Co-creation is a strategy where multiple stakeholders collaborate to produce a mutually beneficial outcome. There are a few principles that underpin this concept and make it easier to understand what we are looking for:

1. We are all equal; as is the knowledge we possess

Co-creation goes beyond the more commonly applied methods of user testing or end-user engagement in technology and service design. While the involvement of users is already an important step in designing solutions or services that are applicable in people’s everyday life, co-creation methods democratize design processes even further. While user involvement is anchored in an asymmetrical relationship, with the designer on one side and the user on the other, co-creation starts from a symmetrical and collaborative relationship between different stakeholders. Acknowledging that all parties bring different expertise to the process, and that these different forms of expertise are of equal value, is fundamental to this collaboration.

2. From human factor to human actor

In user involvement (also called user experience, user-centered design or end-user engagement), user experiences can become objectified as data repositories from where needs and requirements can just be extracted. Information that users provide is then considered to be rough or unprocessed data that designers and engineers need to analyze. The designer or product developer is in charge of the process and decides when, where and how the user should be involved. This approach is valuable when talking about the utility and performance of tools. However, in OrganiCity, we wish to combine utility studies with co-creation to facilitate the process, because it is open, interactive and can surprise us with new perspectives. Even though co-creation still needs facilitation, all people participating are encouraged to come with contributions throughout the design process – from the very first idea to the realization of a product or service. Our interest, therefore, moves from a focus on utility to the value we can create together.

3. Technology as an enabler in society, versus people (as users) being defined in technological terms

When technology is developed for the sake of technology, we risk ending up with products that no one uses or solutions that are meaningless for many. We can only build sustainable cities with digital technologies when we first discuss what kinds of cities we wish to live and work in, and then assess how technology can enhance these visions. Within this context, co-creation methods can be useful for developing the direction for, or frame of, technology and the large amounts of data generated in cities. OrganiCity adopts this approach by connecting with local organizations of civic participation and by exploring, together with citizens, the challenges that exist in their cities. The main idea is that technology does not define who we are and what we strive for, but that we, as citizens, frame the ways in which technology can and should contribute to our lives.

What will be the social architecture of our future?In whose new world order will we live?

This is a thread of conversation in the Collective Evolution group which starts with the above questions and a screen shot from the Noomap video presentation.

Bret A Warshawsky Thank you Gary. We appreciate the resonance, and the inquiries.. glad to engage with the community here, to learn, synergize and co-create. Andrea Harding meet Gary!

Gary R. SmithHi Bret and Andrea, you both are co-founding stewards of the new social architecture project, 'Noomap: Tool for Change/Co-creator Generation,' along with Chris Larcombe, the presenter on this video, is that right? You told me, Bret A Warshawsky, that Noomap has evolved since the video was made. In what ways have you evolved? What are your priorities now?

B. - I'm going to share some documents, and videos which respond to the first question, and then I will try to sum it up in text response. Then, I will reply to second question.

We are happy to share a recent presentation we gave about our S7 Foundation, and noomap. This was actually a bit spontaneous and is really a first draft of what's to come. We are shifting our communications, and vision to what you will see here. Please be aware, this presentation will be majorly upgraded in coming months as we work more deeply on it. It's quite long, we will also be editing out chunks. You may like to start at minute 12 or minute 18 if you would like to skim.

​Please be aware, this slide show is a very early example of a presentation we will be upgrading. Our expression as S7 is in an evolutionary phase and this was thrown together quickly for a presentation opportunity at a St. Thomas retreat for the Trinfinity Community end of 2016.

​G. - It is a rainy day in Coarsegold, and so long as we have internet a good one to follow your links. I look forward to the text summaries as well.

The sole internet service provider in our area, Sierrra Tel, had a 'black out' of wifi service all last week. The story they gave customers was that a hacker planted a virus which disabled all of a certain brand and model of modem. Whatever the case, as events unfold on the world stage, it brought closer to home the possibility of communication black-out. On the video of this post, Chris mentions an alternative internet. Is that still in the works?

I already have loads of questions, but not to overload you will trickle them. This will also be published as posts on the Whole Human blog.

Good to make this connection.

B. - Our set of next priority intentions include:

1) to ground a version of our social architecture which is "good enough for now, safe enough to try (saying comes from Sociocracy 3.0). We will do this with a small group of us. This grounding is

2) to take step closer into becoming the UFO (united fractal organism) we wish to be in order to co-create and deliver the technologies, structures, thoughtware, etc which are parts of our organism's mission.

3) to attract and receive seed funding and beyond.

4) To develop the 1st marketable version of the software product Synergy Space, a platform for people to experience and enable synergistic co-creation,This product will be focused on organisations and organised networks. We will market and sell the product based on a sustainable business model, and our intention is to manifest this product by the end of 2017. The business model is in harmony with the values of the S7 Foundation.

G. - Excellent. From my first quick browse of the documents you linked earlier, I do see a need to be able to summarize and bullet point the experiment for people who've had no previous exposure.

While recognizing that the documents are works-in-progress and not all is meant for a larger audience, may I share the following?

At anytime if I post something you don't want published publicly yet, just let me know and I will delete.

C O - C R E A T O R S

Synergy Hub was conceived by three core partners: Noomap; The Meesteren Foundation and United Earth. Each partner was interested in developing a new social platform where change agents across the planet could come together and live and work in different ways. The synergistic vision and intention for the project created together by the three partners were:

Vision: We are co-creating a world where everyone is free to explore their passions and interests; to live in alignment with the Universal Law of Oneness; to celebrate our unity throughout our diversity; to co-create abundance through sharing and gifting; and to thrive in complete harmony with our natural environment.

Intention: Develop a microcosm of the world we wish to see - Synergy Hub 1.0 (phase 2 the Synergy Hub network)

G. - {The business model is in harmony with the values of the S7 Foundation.}

What are the values of the S7 Foundation? And what does S7 mean? Those are probably answered in the docs, but sometimes an easy answer is appreciated.

B. - That's fine for Synergy Hub -- Please make it Noomap (The S7 Foundation) -- as we are now identified with both while we 'switch' over.

Also, maybe, change to..

The Synergy Hub Experiment was conceived by three... and

The synergistic vision and intention for the project created together by the three partners was also an experimental placeholder and were:

S7 is an homage to the 7 Esses of Cocreation and a nod to what we call the 7 Frequencies of co-creation (experimental, they include Vision, Passion, Intention, Skill, Resource, Desire, Action -- and the 8th is Values). We also like the way it sounds! We use 'Foundation' in its dictionary sense of a platform, structure, etc -- not a legal foundation.

Our Core Values/OS are the aforementioned 7 Esses. Other values would include but not limited to (these are not yet explicitly laid out in a manifesto or declaration of any kind)...

G. - On our drive to Yosemite National Park yesterday, Kati and I talked about new social architectures. As with any project or social experiment, those actively involved have a different perspective than someone looking at it from outside the circle.

I still want to watch the video you linked to earlier, about 'being the passion.'

You and I have had some conversation about passion and emotional intelligence, mentioned by Chris in the 2016 video, being an unstable foundation and the need to go deeper for lasting growth and resistance to corruption.

Rather than passion, I might call it my core spiritual character which inspires and motivates me to focus on the new social architecture from another angle. What S7 does is wonderful and needed, but it is still 'top-down' and technology-dependent.

Being an architect of one's inner landscape is essential as world-shaking events occur. My primary attention goes currently to the practice of Heart Space Breathing, which would benefit from co-creative design.

G. - You and I have also had some conversation about the Gene Keys, the personal development tool which the three co-founding stewards of Noomap/S7 apply for doing inner work. For some, a structured system may be useful as a means of guidance and growth.

In our last interaction, we wrote:

{B. - Of course, ultimately, as many of us are finding, these systems, maps, etc are really in the mind. It seems they will be/must be left behind in order to be truly liberated and free of mind.

G. - Bret, your last sentence sums it up for me. 100 percent agreement. I am exploring a practice which focuses attention on the breath and the heart space. Pranayama without the tradition, technique or system. Pranayama perhaps, guided by individual intuition and evolved collectively.}

Do you see any connection between S7 co-creation and my feeling to collectively evolve the Heart Space Breathing practice?

This is a continuation of conversations from two previous blog posts - Noomap and Noomap On-going. It is between Bret Warshawsky,a co-founding steward of Noomap, and me. The dialogue focuses on the personal development tool called Gene Keys.

​Gary R Smith

G. - After ordering the Gene Keys book, I realized that Kati is familiar with the system. She was quite interested in it for a time, when we were on Maui. As she reminded me, she was on the verge of having a session with a practitioner. She didn't have, and eased away from the teachings.

When we talked, these came up:

While the system is universal, it gives a partial picture.

The system is overly complicated.

The teachings are in the head. They do not open the heart.

We are more than our DNA, and are not bound to it.

There was a dispute between the original teacher and his student, Richard Rudd. Those un-dissolved conflicting energies are still attached to the system.

Such systems are the work of one or more individuals who try to turn their aha! insights into a technique for everyone. For the practitioner, it is being fitted with someone else's idea of a hat.

The personal development/inner work in our awakening world is conducted in the moment, uniquely to the individual, and over intuition and heart intelligence.

How do you feel about these observations?

What is the relationship between the co-founders of Noomap and Richard Rudd?

Bret A Warshawsky

We are friends with Richard and many in the Gene Keys community. Andrea and Chris also did some work on the new Gene keys society website as individuals, not as 'Noomap'.

The system, to me, is no more or less complicated than any other whether it be Buddhism, physics, tantra or whatnot. I take from it what resonates for me.

I don't think it is fair to make an absolute statement like the teachings are in the head and they do not open the heart. That may be true for some, even many or even most, but not all.

What system is ever a complete picture? I don't usually worry about that, for me, the maps are never the territory, so I take what I like and leave the rest. I don't expect any system to be universal or complete.

A lot (even most) of the Gene Keys came from Richard's study and immersion in Human Design which he seems to readily acknowledge. He's perfectly imperfect like everyone else.

Perhaps the unresolved conflicts he had with his teacher are attached to the work. I'm not sensitive enough energetically to pick that up.

Last thought, people we know who use Gene Keys seem to be quite in their hearts, and bodies, and minds too.. including Richard. So for me, that's a reflection of the work. Of course, ultimately, as many of us are finding.. these systems, maps, etc are really in the mind.. and seems they will be/must be left behind in order to be truly liberated and free of mind.

Gary R Smith

B. - The system, to me, is no more or less complicated than any other whether it be Buddhism, physics, tantra or whatnot. I take from it what resonates for me.

G. - I understand what you are saying. In general, my feeling towards complicated systems is that many are designed that way in order to sell books, hold workshops and have a need for practitioners. I have several books which contain complicated systems — the 11 steps of this, the 7 octaves of that — and I like their tables of content but did not get further as I saw the complication was really not needed and just hinders for me the natural process. All that is needed is something so simple the mind has difficulty accepting that it can be effective.

I also like the philosophy and people of HeartMath. They have done much to expand our understanding of the intelligence of the heart. I feel full alignment with the statement on their home page:

Our Purpose

HeartMath provides tools that connect us with the heart of “who we truly are” for living healthier, fulfilling lives and building a brighter future.

Since 1991, the HeartMath Institute has researched and developed reliable, scientifically based tools to help people bridge the connection between their hearts and minds, and deepen their connection with the hearts of others.

G. - I bought their biofeedback devices twice over a period of years, and made dedicated effort to use the HeartMath system. In the end, I had to reluctantly acknowledge that 'bridging the connection between hearts and minds, and deepening connection with the hearts of others' would not happen for me over the computer. Their system forces a person to analyze data, and mixing that with heart is like trying to mix oil and water. Yet thousands would disagree and give testimonial to the benefits they receive from using the devices and analyzing their data. I do not want to be in a position of arrogance, to say they are deluded, so must leave it alone.

B. - I don't think it'd fair to make an absolute statement like the teachings are in the head and they do not open the heart. That may be true for some, even many or even most, but not all.

G. - I agree with you. What statement can be absolute? We live in such a relativistic world! But that statement is not absolute either. I do not doubt it is possible to use the Gene Keys to one's benefit and be a heartful, loving person. But I recognize my own weakness of getting too single focused on anything which requires the intellect, to the detriment of the rest of my surroundings and relationships. I have realized over and over, as it took many lessons, that striving to understand something does not bring me any closer to experiencing it, and in fact can create barriers which prevent communion.

B. - What system is ever a complete picture? I don't usually worry about that, for me, the maps are never the territory, so I take what I like and leave the rest. I don't expect any system to be universal or complete.

G. - Yes, that is true. All systems, techniques, traditions, beliefs, perspectives and so on are incomplete in themselves. Imbalance occurs when one places too much reliance on a single system or tradition.

B. -A lot (even most) of the Gene Keys came from Richard's study and immersion in Human Design which he seems to readily acknowledge. He's perfectly imperfect like everyone else.

G. - The founder of EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) also developed that system upon the foundation of one he learned from his teacher, and there was similar conflict. Also, the organization which followed Paramhansa Yogananada's teachings split, each faction claiming to be the true one. Not to mention the 'followers' of Christ! I do not judge this phenomenon but sometimes wonder at it.

B. - Perhaps the unresolved conflicts he had with his teacher are attached to the work. I'm not sensitive enough energetically to pick that up.

G. - Nor am I. But Kati is, and I have great respect for her sensitivity. She came around to say she does not know if the conflict was resolved or if the teacher of Richard still lives. She also softened her initial stance about the mental and complicated characteristics of the Gene Keys.

B. - Last thought, people we know who use Gene Keys seem to be quite in their hearts, and bodies, and minds too.. including Richard. So for me, that's a reflection of the work.

G. - Well worth noting. Kati suggested I watch a YouTube video of Richard and see for myself how his energy feels. It will be subjective, whatever I may conclude. I must add, the energy I sense from you and Chris seems to be full of heart. Kati watched Chris' presentation and also likes his energy. I do not mention Andrea because we haven't had any interactions.

B. - Of course, ultimately, as many of us are finding.. these systems, maps, etc are really in the mind.. and seems they will be/must be left behind in order to be truly liberated and free of mind.

G. - Bret, your last sentence sums it up for me. 100 percent agreement. I am exploring a practice which focuses attention on the breath and the heart space. Pranayama without the tradition, technique or system. Pranayama perhaps, guided by individual intuition and evolved collectively.

But, this does not mean to me that my interest in Gene Keys is done and over. As a saying goes, there is honey in the clover. It just needs to worked by the bees.

I wrote the following as an introduction to the Whole Human blog post on Noomap before reading your latest refreshing response. Whole Human is an expression of my evolution, so is not linear, neat or always orderly. Posts may contradict previous ones and if read out of context of the blog flow may seem confusing. But, I like it so long as I feel the flow.

I am interested to expand our conversation if possible by taking it to the Collective Evolution discussion group where there may or may not be additional input. Like the unknown seed, what comes up will be a surprise.

If you see anything in my writing which does not accurately represent what you know, your insights to help me bring it to balance will be appreciated. Thank you.

What will be the social architecture of our future?

Around the world, social architects are theorizing and experiencing alternative, 'new paradigm' social designs, driven by intentions of creating a world of greater awareness, cooperation, creativity, freedom and equality. For the architects (who may have studied social systems for years,) and their enthusiasts, such exploration is a passion and mission. For others, the language of social architecture — with flavors of tech-savvy and activism — may seem foreign. I have watched videos and come away saying, 'huh?'

Last week a social project called Noomap and I crossed paths. The language of one of the three co-founding stewards who introduced it to me is kinder to my ears than that of previous encounters with new social architectures, and my attention was absorbed from beginning to end by their 30 minute video. Not only could I understand what the speaker was saying, I resonated with almost all of his presentation. I would replace his foundation of passion and emotional intelligence with the heart space (Heart Space Breathing) and be mindful to reduce dependency on technologies as the real new architecture is over the heart, not the computer.

Being mission and purpose and passion driven can be fresh and lively but has its limitations. It can actually prevent a person from connecting more deeply with their inner landscape. I see that now, looking back at myself ten years ago. Youthful energy and enthusiasm may be needed to bring new architectures closer to their realized potential, yet deeper wisdom and resonance is essential for their full and sustainable growth.

Bret A Warshawsky

We may have reached the saturation point of newness and passion (though I recommend watching this video by Yasuhiko about more generative passion than draining or limited

I would put fourth that the evolutionary purpose of our project/community is healing, transformation and the individual inner work. The three co-founding stewards support each other to awaken, in our awakening. Obviously, many/most see us as some form of tech startup or related. Our first priority is what you speak of and what has truly united us.

Are you familiar with the Gene Keys? In that system, my life's work has a shadow of greed.. so, I am familiar with this (we use the Gene Keys as a tool in awakening).

What you are speaking of is true, in many/most ways. This is perhaps why an 'organization' like ours must take as long as organically required to fractal out and flourish. The foundational core fractal must be solid, committed, incorruptible. I don't think Andrea, Chris or my self would have been capable alone to hold this space, that's why synergistic co-creation is what has brought us together.

Points from interview:Drivenness (from the ego) comes from a sense of lack, a compulsion to fill a bottomless empty glass.Passion is a sense of abundance, a continuously overflowing fountain from knowing who you are.

​What will be the social architecture of our future?In whose New World Order will we live?

Around the world, social architects are theorizing and experiencing alternative, 'new paradigm' social designs, driven by intentions of creating a world of greater awareness, cooperation, creativity, freedom and equality. For the architects (who may have studied social systems for years,) and their enthusiasts, such exploration is a passion and mission. For others, the language of social architecture — with flavors of tech-savvy and activism — may seem foreign. I have watched videos and come away saying, 'huh?'

Last week a social project called Noomap and I crossed paths. The language of one of the three co-founding stewards who introduced it to me is kinder to my ears than that of previous encounters with new social architectures, and my attention was absorbed from beginning to end by their 30 minute video. Not only could I understand what the speaker was saying, I resonated with almost all of his presentation. I would replace his foundation of passion and emotional intelligence with the heart space (Heart Space Breathing) and be mindful to reduce dependency on technologies as the real new architecture is over the heart, not the computer.

Being mission and purpose and passion driven can be fresh and lively but has its limitations. It can actually prevent a person from connecting more deeply with their inner landscape. I see that now, looking back at myself ten years ago. Youthful energy and enthusiasm may be needed to bring new architectures closer to their realized potential, yet deeper wisdom and resonance is essential for their full and sustainable growth.

Bret Warshawsky and I had some dialogue about a new social architecture called Noomap/S7. A portion of that on-going conversation follows.

It is an interesting paradox, isn't it, that 5th dimensional living is presumably free of the old money and other social systems — yet money is still needed to move forward.

Where are the people who have resources and are urged from within to pioneer the 'new paradigm'?

Would those with resources be more compelled to act if they were confident that the new paradigm will be effective? What are their hesitancies and how can those doubts and fears be addressed?

Will the old style of business for profit actually serve the interests of the 'new paradigm'?

Sure, it is uncharted territory and I do not expect answers. We have to explore, experiment and find out. I feel that having the courage to act and the humility to change course as needed are both essential.

G. -

What does 5th dimensional living mean to you? What are its attributes or characteristics? Is it something to work towards or something that is happening as a global/cosmic event? If the latter, is our role simply to prepare ourselves by doing individual inner work? Do you know any group or platform which is discussing such questions?

Bret A Warshawsky

Our project is working on a holonic social architecture probably similar to the holatomic you (another commenter) mentioned. For me, money is actually part of a resource and gift economy until it naturally becomes obsolete, the difference being that it is equalized as another resource among many and can be shared unconditionally in these newer economies. It's the psychology of money more than the thing itself which is asking to be transformed and evolved. From profit to prosperity and core drivers being return on imagination and return on intention being the focus. Profit will reach its highest aspirations through 5d.

B. -

Gary, the people with the resources, in my general experience are the most entrenched in scarcity thinking because Of what it generally requires to amass financial wealth and keep it that way. That being said, and speaking from perspective of project I am part of and our experiences, it's our responsibility to both hold the space for what I call spiritual philanthropy as well as bridge to the folks with resources by arriving at the most elegant communication and invitation for them. We are getting there.

G. -

Bret, the perspective of each person adds something essential to the whole.

Posting thoughts and feelings is like planting an unknown seed — you don't know what will come up or how it will grow but can watch, enjoy the process and be surprised.

Now, I'd rather talk about what we choose to see happening in the world and how it can be manifested than about what is wrong or missing.

In my week without the stimulus of internet interaction, I pondered such things as comments about the fraud of the legal system. What comes to me is that if there is a barrier preventing the manifestation of a better world, it is not politicians, the elite wealthy, the legal, financial or educational systems. Those are riddled with corruption of course, but the root cause is deeper.

I see the root cause of everything which hinders our vision of greater equality and freedom for creative living as something within every person — the conditioned mind.

You cannot address a root disease by spraying the leaves. The systems of the world are the leaves, but the root is the conditioned mind.

It is not a popular message.

Without addressing it deeply, any changes made will be superficial and soon corrupted.

I am not suggesting everyone becomes a monk or nun. The conditioned mind is active in every tradition.

Neither am I suggesting that current efforts be abandoned. Instead, more open dialogue, deeper thought, greater awareness and individual psycho-spiritual growth are needed alongside all other activities.

I feel limited in what I can write here, not because it is a thread posted by Dakota, but because I have not been face-to-face with any person commenting and we do not know how each other actually lives.

I have concerns about underlying motives of manipulation and control even in systems purported to be for a new and better world. People with good intentions are often manipulative without realizing it consciously.

I have not yet experienced anyone living up to their words of living more consciously, not even myself. What has to change, for starters, is individual fears of having not enough, or wanting more than is needed. That can be replaced with a love for the sacredness of the whole, and empathy and compassion towards each other, and all beings living on the earth.

When we can talk so openly and honestly with each other that we know nothing we say will offend, that the speaker is as eager to correct their own mis-perceptions as others are to correct it for them, when correction or input is given and received as cooperation with pure motives borne of no self (conditioned mind) service, then we start to have a choice to actually create a better world and not just construct an empty shell that looks better than the world we live in.

B. - You might like some of Chris' presentation on our project, noomap. This is from 2016 so it would need updating to match our current perspectives and learning .. maybe start at minute 3:40 and see where that takes you.

G. - Can you give me a link?

B. - Like you say, none of us is perfectly walking the talk, I think though, you will appreciate some of what we are bringing into our technologies and social architectures.

G. - I appreciate the visionary words written by well-meaning people and the innovative designs borne of intention to live in a more earth-friendly, harmonious, self-sufficient way. And just because I see major discrepancies between the visionary words and what is actual in some of the higher visibility projects does not mean there are not those who more closely walk their talk. So yes, I agree with you.

B. - I think it's fair to say, and for you too I imagine, that many of us are living more consciously, have we taken that to epic levels yet.... maybe not yet.

G. - Bret, part of this has to do with what each of us means by living more consciously. As examples, my wife and I visited remote permaculture communities in Bavaria, the Canaries, the Pacific Northwest, Ecuador and on Maui.

The last one wrote in their introduction that they were modeling 'a more conscious way of living.' Yet there was a strong hierarchy and the landowners treated workers as resources to do with as they pleased. Even among workers, there were cliques which provided more and higher quality food for themselves than others were able to forage or provide for themselves. There was no open cooperation or caring for others, just each person looking out for their own interests.

I had a conversation with a landowner after we left and what she wrote indicated that her idea of more conscious living is doing yoga and recycling. Those are good things, but a small portion of my idea of what it means to live more consciously.

B. - It feels to me you might be a bit hard on yourself/us. Do you have any shadow around perfection/failure, etc?

G. - One of the potential benefits of living in community where each person is committed not only to other ideals but to individual psycho-spiritual growth and wholeness is that there can be mutual support. How can I be aware of what I am not aware of?

I recognize a perfectionist tendency in me and would instead call it a determination to live from high ideals. I do not see a shadow of failure in myself but am open-minded to having it pointed out.

B. - I am asking because they come up for me, not so much projecting on you, though it did occur to me when I read, "I have not yet experienced anyone living up to their words of living more consciously, not even myself." This is because many of us are doing our best, and that just has to be enough (per say, from my pov) for now.

G. - In myself I have felt some frustration with such things as my continued reactivity to triggers but have also seen substantial growth in the direction I choose. Recently I have realized how fully I lived in my head most of my life, intellectualizing, philosophizing and playing games. I choose to live from heart awareness instead. Being in online discussions has provided me with new insights, but also draws me into the head living. I see a need to be off this laptop and working in the earth, playing the ukelele, and being kind and compassionate in my relationships. It is not that I cannot be online, but that I must find a balance that works for me and feels right.

B. - The fears around not having enough (and related) as you so well know, are deep, and in deed, in our community we are all ways exploring this and playing through transmutation to greater levels of freedom/de-conditioning. We are not masters, perhaps, and, I also like to give us credit. We've been consciously working with what we call Gift Consciousness and experimenting/prototyping/living a Gift Culture of less (rather than none) fear, scarcity, and such. We are walking the talk in this sense, we are all in for the learning.

G. - Bret, who is the 'we' who has been 'consciously working with what we call Gift Consciousness and experimenting/prototyping/living a Gift Culture of less (rather than none) fear, scarcity, and such. We are walking the talk in this sense, we are all in for the learning.'?

B. - It was the youtube video attached to my post.

The 'we' I was referring to is the project/community I am part of called noomap or S7 (as we are renaming).

G. - I absolutely love the expression of Chris (from the Noomap video,)

'Sit in a circle of unknowing first and connect more on a heart level and it organically unfolds.'

This video is beyond anything else I have seen, in the direction of my own feeling and passion towards what is needed to transcend the old paradigm. Chris' presentation is excellent, very understandable from beginning to end, and right on. I could not feel any doubting question come up in me, only an urge to participate and contribute.

Don't know why I did not see the video link at first, doesn't matter. Maybe the few minutes longer was needed for me to be in the most receptive state to watch the whole.

The audience asked the inquiring, clarifying types of question I would have asked. The video was made in 2016 and you wrote Noomap/S7 has evolved since then. I would appreciate a way to catch up with what is happening now.

Also, I will share this on my FB timeline and as part of a Whole Human blog post. May I quote from what you wrote in this thread?

B. - ​Thanks Gary, I am sure Larcturian Chris and Andrea Harding will especially appreciate your reflection. You can quote anything (if you feel it's appropriate and was decently well put) I have shared. It's been a big year of evolution & learning for us so there isn't yet a very tight/specific expression for the latest.

The best things (when you have time) are two long-ish videos, #1 and #2 on our youtube channel, #2 is the latest work-in-progress presentation.

If you'd like to see some snaphots of our evolution and what we've been putting out please see about half way down our current GoFundMe for tons of documents, and links. I like Synergy Space, The One page Intro, press release and some others.. see what you wish.

G. - So long as participants are powered by their passion, the euphoria of newness may sustain Noomap/S7.

What happens when the newness is gone and the passion diminished?

Then the 'greed for more' sets in and corruption begins.

Passion and emotional intelligence do not have the stability to hold up under human corruption. It is a foundation that will crumble.

I suggest we look more deeply. The foundation that will stand is individual commitment to do each our inner work — to be impeccably self aware and self responsible and support each other as invited to awaken.

After experimenting with many practices over a lifetime, my response to the last question has been to design one from a synthesis of what has been most effective and efficient for me. I call it Heart Space Breathing.

The PDF can be downloaded from SCRIBD but requires signup. The same file can be downloaded without signup by clicking Download File:

With your eyes open or closed, simply be aware of the breath. When you are attuned to it, move your attention to the center of your chest, and tune in also to the heart space.

Any activity of the mind (such as labeling, noting, expecting, imagining, projecting or wandering) can hinder or limit the practice. Simply return attention to observing the breath and feeling the heart space, with openness and trust. Allow images or impressions to arise. Feel and observe them.

The Heart Space is still and alive, empty of thoughts and things, and radiant with being.

Heart Space Breathing can be practiced as a sitting of any duration, and brought into one's awareness over the day.

For those attracted to writing, it can be helpful and insightful to keep a journal to note such things as dreams, self-observed changes in behavior like responding rather than reacting to triggers, increased feelings of inner peace, compassion, happiness for no reason, non-separation, and so on. There are no expectations, only observing what is. Over the day, when agitating thoughts arise, enter the heart space simply by saying or thinking 'heart space' and feeling it in the center of the chest.

​Some practices specify a focus — in Heartfulness (Daaji) meditation it is, 'Gently close your eyes and think that the Source of Light is already present within your heart.'

I found that feeling, not thinking, creates the experience of going beyond the confines of the conditioned mind.

Using specific language such as 'Source of Light' also limits the experiences to a mind-generated concept.

Also, the 'oneness center' is not within the heart but in the region of the heart. Feeling the 'heart space' while being aware of my breathing connects me with the greater awareness beyond the conditioned mind. I leave the details to my intuitive feeling in the moment.

Heartfulness goes on to say, 'Rather than try to visualize it, simply tune in to your heart and be open to any experience that you may have.'

Some teachings prescribe a duration for the practice such as in Heartfulness meditation, 'Do this for 30 minutes. If your mind wanders, gently bring your attention back to your heart.'

Any pre-conceived notion binds a mental concept to the practice. Heart Space Breathing does not put a suggested amount of time on the sitting practice. Rather, trust your own intuitive feeling.​In the Isha Kriya of Sadhguru, the practitioner breathes in rhythm to the thoughts:

Inhalation'I am not the body.'

Exhalation'I am not even the mind.'

When I experimented with Sadhguru's yoga meditation, the effect on me was contracting and separating rather than expanding and merging. It was interesting to observe and I replaced his words with my own — until I realized it also was imposing limited mental ideas onto limitless awareness. ​

Structure may enable a system or technique to be mass marketed, but it also makes the practice rigid. Systems tend to follow the tradition, or the persona of the teacher/teaching, rather than allow awareness to arise in the moment for the unique individual. Guided visualizations are also being fitted by someone else's version of a hat.

Deep breathing can be very beneficial on its own and even more when integrated with Heart Space Breathing.

I have added inversion (hanging upside down on an inversion table) and the Five Tibetan Rites (a simple yoga routine) to my practice and chant the vowel sounds of 'Heart space' (long A) and 'Heart source' (long O) to recall the feeling of the heart space.

I work with Cannabis indica and other medicinal herbs and play on a bass mouth harp and consider those to be an adjunct to the practice.

Comments

In a Collective Evolution conversation thread where I finally realized how simple it is and how complicated I'd made it,

Rod MacKinnon wrote:

Once again, I need to acknowledge Gary R. Smith, as one of a small group of the most sincere, self-honest, dedicated-to-living-the-inner-truth-of-oneself, individuals, it has been my good fortune to come across. Your honesty and unselfconscious humility is an inspiration... I find the beauty of infinite truth in the depths and spaces between and behind your words... and the authenticity that characterizes your writing...

Gary R Smith

In response to my post, Living from the Heart, where I wrote, 'If there is one most essential principle to apply to my life for conscious evolution, it is live from the heart. But, what does that mean? And how does one live from the heart?', Rod wrote:

R. - Having read your posts and conversations, Gary, it appears to me so obvious that you spontaneously, "live from your heart" every minute, whether or not you're conscious of it,... and have done so for a very long time, possibly most of your life... You're an inspiration....The thing is, we can't see ourselves as others do.... I don't think one can do it (live from the heart) self-consciously... that would be simply playing an imagined character-role... I think we just have to relax and trust our unseeable self to deliver... "ask and it shall be given"....You've asked, now...relax and have faith.... Always enjoy conversations with you...

G. - Rod, your words are kind towards me and I feel humbled. So much so that I haven't found words fully to respond. I accept what you say of me without ego-inflation. It came to me to joke about your earlier comment that I could not add it to a Whole Human post or would have to edit out your word 'humble'!

You commented above, and then edited to change it, to the effect that what counts is 'getting it,' not 'getting it right.' Yes, but.... getting it intellectually doesn't really count for much, does it? If living from the heart is not embodied in actions from kindness and compassion, what is it?

I was born into this world red-faced and screaming at the top of my lungs according to my dad (when, on a quest to understand misophania, I asked if there had been anything unusual at my birth). Being a Gemini, whatever one thinks of astronomy, I can see a dual nature in me. I am at peace and at war in the same body. It was not until later in life that I accepted how angry I have been in an underlying current.

Now as my self-awareness grows, I am more keenly aware of the quality of my actions, and that humbles me also.

The discussions on Collective Evolution played a key role in my design of a practice that supports the expansion of awareness, heart space breathing. That has been singularly effective is helping me to shift from envisioning how I choose to be in the world to actually experiencing it in greater degrees through tougher challenges. What else are challenges for then to show us our resistance points so we have an opportunity to merge with them in unconditional love?

Thank you for responding. I always enjoy our conversations also.

It is our Heart that guides us Home.

It is through our Heart that we are restored to the Wholeness that we are.

When your presence centers into your Heart,​it informs your mind of all it needs to know.